The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Verbena plant, botanically known as Verbena hybrida, and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Kiesel UCPxe2x80x99.
The new Verbena was discovered by the Inventor in 1997 as a naturally-occurring branch mutation of an unnamed Verbena hybrida seedling selection in a greenhouse in Venhuizen, The Netherlands. The new Verbena was selected by the Inventor on the basis of its unique flower color and compact growth habit.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings taken in a controlled environment in Venhuizen, The Netherlands, since the winter of 1998, has shown that the unique features of this new Verbena are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Kiesel UCPxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Kiesel UCPxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Compact, mounded and outwardly spreading plant habit.
2. Freely branching habit.
3. Dark green leaves; densely foliated.
4. Purple-colored flowers.
Plants of the new Verbena differ primarily from plants of the mutation parent in flower color and plant habit.
The new Verbena can be compared to the Verbena hybrida cultivar Calvado Scarlet, not patented. However, in side-by-side comparisons conducted by the Inventor in Venhuizen, The Netherlands, plants of the new Verbena differ from plants of the cultivar Calvado Scarlet in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Verbena are more spreading and not as trailing as plants of the cultivar Calvado Scarlet.
2. Plants of the new Verbena are stronger than plants of the cultivar Calvado Scarlet.
3. Flower color of plants of the new Verbena is more intense than flower color of plants of the cultivar Calvado Scarlet.